ANDY HOLLINGSWORTH will take charge of Guildford for the first time tomorrow, gunning for a mid-summer revival.

The 24-year-old assumed control at Woodbridge Road this week after Carman Mapatuna stepped down following the club’s poor start to their Castle Lager Surrey Championship Premier Division campaign, which sees them lying third from bottom.

Hollingsworth will lead out the team at Wimbledon tomorrow and said: “I’m confident we can do a lot better and I think everyone is looking forward to the game. We’ve struggled a bit lately but there is a lot of ability in the team and we’ve got to start making the most of it.

“I don’t think any one individual can look at himself and believe he has played as well as he can, so we’ve all got to start showing more pride in our individual performances.”

Mapatuna’s brief but unhappy reign ended on Saturday after Avorians had racked up a record league score of 419-5, the final straw for a proud but frustrated man. The Sri Lankan all-rounder, in his fourth season at the club, has proved a hugely successful and popular player but there was a growing acceptance that the captaincy was one job too many.

His appointment was rushed through at the end of last season after Ross Skidmore quit, having found the captaincy wrecked both his form and enjoyment of the game.

Mapatuna saw his first two matches rained off before getting off the mark with a win against strugglers Banstead. But since then Guildford have taken just five points out of 52, with two defeats and a brace of draws.

He said: “It didn’t work out and so I thought it was best if someone else took over. I didn’t feel I got the support I needed from the team but I also let myself down by not bowling as much as I should and batting lower, to give others a chance.

“Now I can concentrate on my game and if I play well then the team will benefit. Andy needs to get the backing of everyone and I’m sure he will.”

Hollingsworth, who played first-class cricket while at Durham University, was captain at Charterhouse School for two seasons and has led several Surrey age group teams.

Only last week he conceded that a career in the county game was unlikely, having played for Surrey and Hampshire seconds over the past two seasons, but is clearly excited by this new challenge.

His first move has been to make mercurial off-spinner Noel Brett his vice-captain and they will be conspiring to give Guildford more bite in the field. Hollingsworth, who started the season as vice-captain, explained: “We’ve been giving away a lot of runs early on and have possibly been over-attacking. We’ve got some very talented young quick bowlers like Jade Dernbach and Tarique Kalam but I think their confidence has been knocked a bit lately and we need to have control early on or we end up chasing games.

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out for Carman and he didn’t get the support he needed but I’m looking forward to seeing him enjoy his cricket again.”

In club cricket, where teams are mainly amateurs playing for their own recreation, there is a necessity for the captain to give players a lead and forge a spirit into which others can buy. At Guildford, combining the twin strands of experienced players and ambitious youngsters can make it a complicated balancing act.

Like all leaders, Hollings-worth will need some luck, not least with injuries. Paceman Neil Saker should return from shoulder trouble against Esher next Saturday while batsman Ross Skidmore, who suffered a similar problem two weeks ago, is likely to be back next month.

Opener Max Hall makes his comeback after missing last week but all-rounder Chris Thompson has yet to recover from an ankle injury.

Both Darren and Martin Bicknell are likely to be available over coming weeks as they are not expected to be used by Notts and Surrey respectively in the Twenty20 Cup.